Through the first three weeks of the 2010 CFL season, the Saskatchewan Roughriders were playing nearly flawless football. Saskatchewan’s 3-0 start could largely be attributed to their offence – led by quarterback Darian Durant, a stellar receiving core and a resurgent Wes Cates on the ground – and their blitz-happy defence.
Yet every team, no matter how good, has their weaknesses that can be exploited by opposing teams.
On Saturday the Calgary Stampeders, much like professional scientists, used a near-perfect formula to best the Green and White 40-20, ending the team’s three-game winning streak. In doing so, Calgary jumped into a tie with the Saskatchewan for first in the West Division at 3-1-0.
While some wouldn’t call it a “shocking” upset, the fashion in which Calgary emerged victorious was jaw-dropping. So, what did Calgary do right to pull off the upset?
Put pressure on Darian Durant: Durant is a mobile quarterback. He won’t necessarily take off and scramble a lot during a game – though he is the second-leading rushing quarterback in the league with 162 yards on 17 carries – but Durant does use his mobility in the passing game. If Durant is feeling the pressure he will often escape the pursuing defenders, buying more time for his receivers, before throwing a completion. In Week 1, when the Riders were taking on the Montreal Alouettes, Durant avoided the pressure and threw a beautiful 87-yard touchdown pass to Rob Bagg. So, what is the best way to counterbalance this? Lots of pressure. By bringing the heat on Durant, team’s can force him to stay in the pocket or force a rushed throw and a possible interception. The Stampeders brought a lot of pressure all game long, tallying two sacks. One of these sacks led to a safety and the constant pressure caused Durant to throw three picks. Durant had only thrown one interception in the first three weeks. By pressuring Durant relentlessly, Calgary did not allow him to have time to dictate the game. The defence certainly made Durant look ordinary.
Attacked the defence deep: Saskatchewan hasn’t been the easiest team to run the ball against this season, but they have allowed over 320 passing yards a game. Simply put, teams can have success against the Green and White if they throw the ball. Besides cornerback Omar Morgan and half back Lance Frazier, the Riders field a pretty inexperienced defensive secondary. James Patrick has only been playing safety for two years, cornerback Donovan Alexander has only started for one year and Chris Mackenzie is in his first year as a starter at the half back position. This inexperience has shown early in the season, as Calvillo torched the defence for four touchdowns in Week 1 and Edmonton’s receiver Fred Stamps had over 200 yards in Week 3. Ironically, Calgary had not had many deep passes heading into this game. They had proven to be cautious when it came to attacking defences deep. They weren’t cautious in this game, as Burris challenged Saskatchewan’s defence deep. This didn’t always work – Burris threw two deep interceptions to Patrick – but he also connected with Romby Bryant on a 67-yard touchdown bomb. By throwing these deep passes, Calgary opened up the short game.
Used a well-rounded attack: Saskatchewan has proved this season that one player doesn’t have to carry the team himself. Calgary adopted this mentality, getting numerous players involved in the game. On the ground, Calgary utilized more than just one running back. Joffrey Reynolds had 15 carries, 93 yards and one touchdown while Jon Cornish also chipped in with 77 yards on five carries. This duel-running attack helped Calgary pick up some key first downs without over working Reynolds and opened up the passing games. In the passing game, Burris spread the ball to numerous receivers. Bryant led the way with seven catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Nik Lewis, whose conditioning has been questioned this season, chipped in with five catches for 50 yards and a touchdown. P.K. Sam had a solid game with 46 yards and a touchdown. Even speedster Deon Murphy chipped in with two catches for 25 yards. Calgary was able to move the ball consistently against Saskatchewan because they used multiple targets. In the process, they mirrored what the Riders do so well.
Won the field position battle: With such a talented offence, it is important to make the Riders start their drives as deep as possible. As good as their offence is, it is hard for any team to score when they are starting their drives so deep. Punter Burke Dales helped the Stampeders win the field position battle on this day. He averaged 48.3 yards a punt in the game, pinning the Riders near the goal line a couple of times. The field position battle was very lopsided in the first half, a big reason why the Riders only scored seven points. Murphy also helped out in the return game, averaging 31.5 yards a return. Calgary had ideal conditions to execute their offence, while the Green and White were just fighting to get the ball out of their end.
Didn’t get comfortable: Calgary held a 19-10 lead heading in the fourth quarter. Time to relax? Hardly. Every team knows the Riders are the “comeback kids”, having already won two games from behind this season. You can never be comfortable with a lead against them. Just ask Montreal, who saw a 33-12 lead evaporate in a hurry in Week 1. Instead of being complacent, Calgary worked hard to put the game away. Early in the fourth, Cornish broke of a 50-yard run and Bryant finished the drive with a 10-yard touchdown catch. The defence then forced another Durant interception and Reynolds ran the ball into the end zone three plays later, giving the Stampeders a commanding 33-10 lead. The Stampeders even added another touchdown in the fourth quarter to secure the victory. With so many late surges by the Riders in the past, it was surprising to see the team fail to mount any sort of comeback. Credit has to go to Calgary.
While it may have just been one bad game for the Riders, the Stampeders followed a perfect formula to beat the Riders. Will the rest of the league take note? Will the Riders find the road harder going forward? Will Saskatchewan emerge from the loss even better? Only time will tell, but for now the Stampeders will celebrate a huge victory.
July 27th, 2010 at 2:05 PM
You are very correct about the special teams/punting game. A couple years ago, Jamie Boreham was brought in specifically because they needed more depth to their punting. If you can punt, and cover well, your opponents have to go so much farther to get any points. If you receive a short punt, or get a good return, it takes much less yardage to even get points.
It’s like the 2001 Stampeders that won the Grey Cup. I love Crandell and all, but most of that game was won on field position. He had to good passes, and the rest was Duncan O’Mahoney’s punting.
July 27th, 2010 at 7:42 PM
The Riders are really struggling with field position, largely due to their poor return game and average punters. I would LOVE to have Burke Dales on our team…
July 28th, 2010 at 6:03 AM
I thought Burke Dales might not have made it because Maver actually punts better than he kicks field goals, but I don’t think Calgary wants to let anyone else have him. If it becomes a cap issue, they may make the move. I think they also don’t want to put too much pressure on him though.